kilusias

Kilusias are an ethnolinguistic group described in the archaeology and anthropology of the Kilusia Isles, a fictional archipelago in the eastern Valara Sea. They are characterized by seafaring culture, eclectic textile traditions, and a distinctive pictographic script known as Kilusian glyphs. The name Kilusia derives from the Kilusian word kilu, meaning “sea,” with kilusias used for the people.

Historically, Kilusian communities appear in material records from roughly the first millennium BCE, forming coastal settlements and competing trade networks with neighboring cultures. Social organization was clan-based, with councils of elders and hereditary chiefs playing ceremonial roles. The Kilusian language is non-Indo-European, with several dialects; Kilusian glyphs were used on pottery, banners, and ceremonial objects, facilitating ritual and administrative communication.

Economy combined fishing, maritime trade, and crafts such as weaving and metalwork. Innovations in boat design and celestial navigation supported long-distance voyages along the archipelago and to mainland ports. Religion tended toward ancestor spirits and sea deities, expressed in monuments and festival cycles.

In modern scholarship within the fictional world, kilusias are studied to illustrate cultural transmission across sea routes and the dynamics of small-maritime societies. Notable sites include Port Nyari and Reef Gate, which yield inscriptions and material assemblies integral to understanding Kilusian history.